Dataset Information

Prevalence of bluetongue virus antibodies and associated risk factors among cattle in East Darfur State, Western Sudan.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an insect-transmitted virus, which causes bluetongue disease (BT) in sheep and a fatal hemorrhagic infection in North American white-tailed deer. However, in cattle the disease is typically asymptomatic and no overt clinical signs of disease appear to be associated with BTV infection. Serological evidence and isolation of different BTV serotypes have been reported in Sudan, however, no information is currently available in regard to previous exposure of Sudanese livestock to BTV infection in East Darfur State, Sudan.

Aims

To determine the prevalence of BTV antibodies and to identify the potential risk factors associated with BTV infection among cattle in East Darfur State, Sudan.

Methods

A total of 224 blood samples were collected randomly from five localities in East Darfur State, Sudan. The serum samples were screened for detection of BTV-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA).

Results

Serological evidence of BTV infection was observed in 150 out of 224 animals accounting for a 67% prevalence rate among cattle in East Darfur State. Older cattle (>2 years of age) were six times more likely to be infected with BTV (OR = 6.62, CI = 2.87-15.26, p-value = 0.01). Regarding animal source (contact with other herds) as a risk factor, it was shown that cattle purchased from market or introduced from other herds were 3 times at higher risk of being infected with BTV (OR = 3.87, CI = 1.07-13.87, p value = 0.03). Exposure of cattle to the insect vector increased the risk of contracting BTV infection by six times compared to non-exposed cattle (OR = 6.44, CI = 1.53-27.08, p value = 0.01).

Conclusion

The present study indicated that age, animal source and the intensity of the insect vector are influential risk factors for BTV infection in cattle in the Darfur region. Surveillance for BTV infection should be extended to include other susceptible ruminants and to study the distribution of the insect vectors to better predict and respond to a possible BTV outbreak in the State of East Darfur, Sudan.

SUBMITTER: Khair HO

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4016605 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Prevalence of bluetongue virus antibodies and associated risk factors among cattle in East Darfur State, Western Sudan.

Khair Hadia Om HO Adam Ibrahim A IA Bushara Shakir B SB Eltom Kamal H KH Musa Nasreen O NO Aradaib Imadeldin E IE

Irish veterinary journal 20140207 1

<h4>Background</h4>Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an insect-transmitted virus, which causes bluetongue disease (BT) in sheep and a fatal hemorrhagic infection in North American white-tailed deer. However, in cattle the disease is typically asymptomatic and no overt clinical signs of disease appear to be associated with BTV infection. Serological evidence and isolation of different BTV serotypes have been reported in Sudan, however, no information is currently available in regard to previous exposure ...[more]

PMID: 24507448

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Project description:BackgroundBluetongue virus causes febrile disease in sheep and a fatal hemorrhagic infection in North American White-tailed deer. However, in cattle the disease is typically asymptomatic and no clinical overt disease is associated with bluetongue infection. Bluetongue virus activity has been detected in Khartoum, Sennar and South Darfur states of the Sudan. Currently, no information is available in regard to previous exposure of livestock to Bluetongue virus in North Kordufan State, the largest livestock producing region in the country. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of bluetongue antibodies and to identify the potential risk factors associated with the presence of bluetongue antibodies among cattle in North Kordufan State, Sudan. A total of 299 bovine blood samples were collected randomly from six localities in North Kordufan State and were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of BTV-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies.ResultsThe serological evidence of Bluetongue virus infection was observed in 58 out of 299 cows, accounting for a 19.4% prevalence rate among cattle in North Kordufan State. Older cattle (>2 years of age) had four times the odds to be infected with BTV compared to young cattle (OR?=?4.309, CI?=?1.941-9.567, p-value?=?0.01). Application of preventive measures, such as spraying or dipping with insecticide protects cattle against Bluetongue infection. Application of vector control measures decreased the odds for bluetongue seropositivity by 7 times (OR?=?7.408, CI?=?3.111-17.637, p-value?=?0.01).ConclusionsThe results of this study indicated that age and application of routine insecticides are influential risk factors for seroprevalence of Bluetongue in cattle. Surveillance of Bluetongue virus should be extended to include other susceptible animals and to study the distribution of the insect vectors in the region to better predict and respond to BTV outbreak in the State of North Kordufan, Sudan.

Project description:BackgroundSince pastoralists in South Darfur, Sudan, had complained about lack of albendazole (ABZ) efficacy to control nematodes in goats, the frequency of infection with gastrointestinal helminths was studied before in vivo faecal egg count reduction tests (FECRT) were conducted using ABZ orally either at the dose recommended for sheep, 5?mg/kg body weight (bw) or at 10?mg/kg bw. Experiments included goats naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes or experimentally infected with local Haemonchus contortus isolates. Three study areas (Nyala, Beleil and Kass) were visited in autumn or winter.ResultsOut of 478 screened goats, 82.4% were infected with gastrointestinal helminths and 82% were shedding eggs of strongyle nematodes with 90% of the strongyle larvae representing Haemonchus spp. A FECRT using naturally infected goats (n?=?225: 71 untreated, 104 and 50 treated with 5 and 10?mg ABZ/kg bw, respectively) detected reduced ABZ efficacy in Nyala and Kass. Paired and unpaired FECRT calculations detected reductions of 72-92% with samples taken at 8 days post treatment with 5?mg ABZ/kg bw and of 85-94% with 10?mg ABZ/kg bw. The FECRT based on day 14 post treatment samples showed reductions of 69-77% with 5?mg/kg and of 75-87% with 10?mg ABZ/kg bw. In Beleil, ABZ efficacy was 95%. In the egg hatch test EC50 values for Nyala and Kass ranged from 0.12-0.24??g thiabendazole/ml, corresponding to benzimidazole resistant phenotypes. Only Haemonchus spp. larvae were present after treatments in coprocultures. When the efficacy was evaluated experimentally using isolates of H. contortus from Nyala and Kass, the 5?mg ABZ/kg dose revealed reductions of 76-78% on day 8 and of 62-70% on day 14 with the unpaired method. Using 10?mg ABZ/kg, the FECR was still only 77-82%.ConclusionsBoth, in vivo and in vitro methods detected resistant H. contortus populations in goats from South Darfur State. The time point 14?days post treatment was more sensitive for detection of ABZ resistance than 8?days post treatment. This is the first report on the occurrence of anthelmintic resistance in Sudan confirming that anthelmintic resistance selection is occurring in African subsistence farming systems.

Project description:BackgroundTrachoma is thought to be common over large parts of Southern Sudan. However, many areas of the country, particularly west of the Nile, have not yet been surveyed. The aim of this study was to confirm whether trachoma extends into Western Equatoria State from neighboring Central Equatoria, where trachoma is highly prevalent, and whether intervention with the SAFE strategy is required.Methods and findingsPopulation-based cross-sectional surveys were conducted using a two-stage cluster random sampling method to select the study population. Subjects were examined for trachoma by experienced graders using the World Health Organization (WHO) simplified grading scheme. Two counties thought to be most likely to have trachoma were surveyed, Maridi and Mundri. In Maridi, prevalence of one of the signs of active trachoma (trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF)) in children aged 1-9 years was 0.4% (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.0%-0.8%), while no children showing the other possible sign, trachomatous inflammation-intense (TI), were identified. No trachomatous trichiasis (TT) was found in those aged under 15, and prevalence was 0.1% (95% CI, 0.0%-0.4%) in those aged 15 years and above. In Mundri, active trachoma was also limited to signs of TF, with a prevalence of 4.1% (95% CI, 1.4%-6.9%) in children aged 1-9 years. Again, no TT was found in those aged under 15, and prevalence in those aged 15 years and above was 0.3% (95% CI, 0.0%-0.8%).ConclusionTrachoma prevalence in the east of Western Equatoria State is below the WHO recommended intervention threshold for mass drug administration of antibiotic treatment in all villages. However, the prevalence of TF and TT in some villages, particularly in Mundri County, is sufficiently high to warrant targeted interventions at the community level. These results demonstrate that trachoma is not a major public health problem throughout Southern Sudan. Further studies will be required to determine trachoma prevalence in other areas, particularly west of the Nile, but there are presently no resources to survey each county. Studies should thus be targeted to areas where collection of new data would be most informative.

Project description:BackgroundTick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are of global importance, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where they represent a major constraint to livestock production. Their association with human disease is also increasingly recognized, signalling their zoonotic importance. It is therefore crucial to investigate TBPs prevalence in livestock populations and the factors associated with their presence. We set out to identify TBPs present in cattle and to determine associated risk factors in western Kenya, where smallholder livestock production is important for subsistence and market-driven income.ResultsTick-borne pathogen infections in blood samples collected from cattle at livestock markets and slaughterhouses between May 2017 and January 2019 were identified by high-resolution melting analysis and sequencing of PCR products of genus-specific primers. Of the 422 cattle sampled, 30.1% (127/422) were infected with at least one TBP, while 8.8% (37/422) had dual infections. Anaplasma spp. (19.7%) were the most prevalent, followed by Theileria (12.3%), Ehrlichia (6.6%), and Babesia (0.2%) spp. Sequence analysis of the TBPs revealed them to be Anaplasma platys-like organisms (13.5%), Theileria velifera (7.4%), Anaplasma marginale (4.9%), Theileria mutans (3.1%), Theileria parva (1.6%), and Babesia bigemina (0.2%). Ehrlichia ruminantium, Rickettsia spp., and arboviruses were not detected. Exotic breeds of cattle were more likely to be infected with A. marginale compared to local breeds (OR: 7.99, 95% CI: 3.04-22.02, p < 0.001). Presence of ticks was a significant predictor for Anaplasma spp. (OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.32-3.69, p = 0.003) and Ehrlichia spp. (OR: 2.79, 95% CI: 1.22-7.23, p = 0.022) infection. Cattle sampled at slaughterhouses were more likely to be positive for Anaplasma spp. (OR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.01-2.70, p = 0.048) and A. marginale (OR: 3.84, 95% CI: 1.43-12.21, p = 0.012), compared to those sampled at livestock markets.ConclusionThis study reports TBP prevalence and associated risk factors in western Kenya, factors which are key to informing surveillance and control measures.

Project description:BackgroundBrucellosis is a worldwide recognized bacterial zoonotic disease. There is currently no information on bovine brucellosis sero-prevalence in South Sudan regardless of the economic, social and public health impact on populations. Therefore, for the first time in 33 years, we report the sero-prevalence of brucellosis in cattle and their herders. Furthermore, we characterize the drivers associated with the disease at the human-animal interface in Bahr el Ghazal region, South Sudan.MethodsA total of 893 and 87 animal and human sera respectively were examined between December 2015 and May 2016. Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Competitive Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (c-ELISA) were used in parallel to detect anti-Brucella antibodies. Questionnaires were administered to collect relevant metadata used for the association analysis in R version 3.2.3. Odds Ratio (OR) and Confidence Intervals (CI) were determined.ResultsOverall bovine brucellosis prevalence was 31% (95%CI = 28.0-34.2), with the highest 63% (95%CI = 53-70) and lowest 10% (95%CI = 4.5-20.1) prevalence estimates in Wau and Gogrial states respectively. The bovine sero-prevalence was approximately equally distributed among the male 30.4% (26.9-34.2) and the females 32.5% (26.8-38.7). Poor body condition (OR = 0.22; 95%CI = 0.07-0.54) and larger herd sizes (OR = 0.05; 95%CI = 0.008-0.173) were protective factors for brucellosis, while the opposite was true for the second (OR = 1.70; 95%CI = 1.08-2.67) and third (OR = 2.5; 95%CI = 1.46-4.47) lactation stage. The overall brucellosis sero-prevalence in herders was estimated at 33.3% (23.9-44.3).ConclusionWe report a high prevalence of anti-Brucella antibodies in cattle and their herders in Bahr el Ghazal, indicating an enzootic status in the cattle population being an important source of infection for humans. This represents a genuine public health challenge. Therefore, there is need to raise awareness and build capacity and infrastructure in this fragile state to underwrite future public health strategies for brucellosis.

Dataset Information

Prevalence of bluetongue virus antibodies and associated risk factors among cattle in East Darfur State, Western Sudan.

Background

Aims

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Prevalence of bluetongue virus antibodies and associated risk factors among cattle in East Darfur State, Western Sudan.

Similar Datasets

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